Disability Services at UW

This piece was written in May of 2019 for the UW media writing class.

An estimated 1 in 5 adults live with mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. These conditions can seriously affect individual’s daily lives, relationships and careers. At the University of Wyoming, however, there are many resources available to those with disabilities to combat the struggles that may come with these conditions. 

Disability Support Services at UW are responsible for meeting the regulations set in place by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The services provided help even out the struggles people with disabilities may face in the college setting. 

“We are here to make sure qualified students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in UW’s programs and services,” Director of the Disability Support Services, Amanda O’Brien said. “It’s not that we’re giving an advantage. We are evening the playing field to the best of our ability.”

The main service DSS provides involves test taking. Many people with disabilities, especially mental disabilities, require a quiet space or extra time for taking tests. Stepping into the office of DSS, one is often surrounded by half a dozen students waiting for their appointment to take their exams.

In order to qualify for DSS, one must provide documentation of a disability as well as information on how its effects on daily life and academia. Documentation of mental illness is available through the UW Psychology Clinic. This program on campus gives psychology students an opportunity to gain real experience in their field. It also provides students in need of counselling a free source for psychological help.  

“We are able to provide the required documentation in cases that qualify for DSS,” Grad Student Director of the UW Psychology Clinic, Ryan Kozina said. “However, our wait list is really long right now because we have had a lot of people wanting to use our services, but we don’t have the resources needed to get to all of them in a timely manner.”

Both Kozina and O’Brien mentioned a need for more resources. Kozina hoped that in the future his program could grow to accommodate the needs of those on campus. More staff and students involved in running the clinic would benefit campus as a whole in his eyes. His program will switch to online medical records and scheduling soon, which he expects to help lighten the load of those working in the clinic. 

“Right now each of us is technically limited to a five client caseload,” Kozina said. “We often break that limit because some severe cases come through that need help and attention right away.” 

Kozina saw his department lacking in simply the number of people that could help. 

O’Brien saw the main focus point for growing in DSS was the ability to connect with students.

“I had no idea [I could qualify], just because I never thought about it that way,” former UW freshman Mattie Carlson. “I think it was more on my part, just being unaware that mental health could really affect you so deeply and severely.” 

Carlson was diagnosed with schizophrenia and ADHD this year, within months of her dropping out of college. She talked about her ability to get by in high school despite having severe motivation issues derived from her mental illness. As soon as she recognized the foundational issues affecting her studies “it all just crumbled before I could pick it up and rebuild it.”

O’Brien hopes to increase outreach to students to show the resources available in the future. She recognized issues she has faced in connecting with students in recent years because “you used to be able to just send out a mass email, and everyone would know.” 

DSS provides important services to those who may face challenges in school because of their disability. Over the next few years, they hope to reach out to students more which will in turn help ‘even the playing field’ for people with disabilities in getting an education.